Matthew: This is my daughter Thea.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Kids Quotes! XII
Matthew: What are you talkin about?
Mommy: I'm talking about all the things I love about you.
Matthew: Let's not talk about that right now, okay Mommy? Let's talk about that later.
Kids Quotes! XI
6am on Saturday.
Daddy follows the instructions perfectly.
Matthew: Nnnnnnow, get your eyes up!
Friday, August 29, 2014
Robin Williams
Warning: if you don't like posts that are emotional or vulnerable, this one's not for you.
It's becoming sadly unsurprising (and even worse to say, cliche) that a celebrity dies of an overdose. People write RIP in their Facebook newsfeed and then by Thursday they are back on track with their normal life. I'm not saying life should come to a stop but for me, with the death of Robin Williams, it has a little. I'm not exactly sure why it has impacted me so much but I am going to try to put it into words.
First, I recommend watching these tributes. The first is by David Letterman and the second is by Billy Crystal.
It's becoming sadly unsurprising (and even worse to say, cliche) that a celebrity dies of an overdose. People write RIP in their Facebook newsfeed and then by Thursday they are back on track with their normal life. I'm not saying life should come to a stop but for me, with the death of Robin Williams, it has a little. I'm not exactly sure why it has impacted me so much but I am going to try to put it into words.
First, I recommend watching these tributes. The first is by David Letterman and the second is by Billy Crystal.
http://youtu.be/4bVgilYncao
So while people wrote RIP Robin Williams in their twitter feeds and then moved on to their #icebucketchallenges, my life has stopped and I have been reflecting deeply on Robin and those around me that are stuck in a state of the blues or real depression.
I feel moved to push this forward, to not let depression just linger as an issue like poverty that I would rather close my curtain to so that I don't have to see it. I want to see it and I want to be present for people as a place of comfort or togetherness. I can't make the negative feelings go away but as a therapist and a friend I long to sit with all of my family and friends in their lives, the real ones.
Prior to his death and not because of it, Robin Williams has always been a phenomenal actor and one of my favorites. He embodies and portrays humanness and depth to a degree that most cannot.
Hearing people speak of him personally and professionally it seems as though he was a great man who truly touched people. I have found that I have been touched even more so than I had insight to prior to his death. It creates deep sadness in me that anyone, but clearly this man in particular, felt so much pain that he ended his own life.
Perhaps I feel so touched by his death because he reminds me of people I know that suffer greatly with sadness and loneliness, that live lives without much joy. It's one thing to laugh, it's another to be joyful. There is one person in particular that I have been thinking of lately. That person is one of my best friends and brings so much to my life (laughter, meaningful conversation, genuine love) and when I think about that person not feeling like they are much of anything or they are being beaten up by life, I feel so sad.
In the tribute by David Letterman you see a man in great despair with moments of pure and deep laughter. It's simultaneously joyous and devastating to watch.
Hearing people speak of him personally and professionally it seems as though he was a great man who truly touched people. I have found that I have been touched even more so than I had insight to prior to his death. It creates deep sadness in me that anyone, but clearly this man in particular, felt so much pain that he ended his own life.
Perhaps I feel so touched by his death because he reminds me of people I know that suffer greatly with sadness and loneliness, that live lives without much joy. It's one thing to laugh, it's another to be joyful. There is one person in particular that I have been thinking of lately. That person is one of my best friends and brings so much to my life (laughter, meaningful conversation, genuine love) and when I think about that person not feeling like they are much of anything or they are being beaten up by life, I feel so sad.
In the tribute by David Letterman you see a man in great despair with moments of pure and deep laughter. It's simultaneously joyous and devastating to watch.
So while people wrote RIP Robin Williams in their twitter feeds and then moved on to their #icebucketchallenges, my life has stopped and I have been reflecting deeply on Robin and those around me that are stuck in a state of the blues or real depression.
I feel moved to push this forward, to not let depression just linger as an issue like poverty that I would rather close my curtain to so that I don't have to see it. I want to see it and I want to be present for people as a place of comfort or togetherness. I can't make the negative feelings go away but as a therapist and a friend I long to sit with all of my family and friends in their lives, the real ones.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Exploritorium
Since it's in the 90s today with a humidity level that takes us to the hundies, the kiddos and I went to a local park district Exploritorium.
Another boy at the park told Matthew he had to be wearing a costume to get on stage. Matthew excitedly hurried to get one and he picked a joker costume. The boy explained to Matthew that joker "kills people and then laughs when he drives by the dead." Matthew replied, "That's funny." What he meant was, "I have absolutely no idea what you said but I like that you're playing with me."
After almost two hours of great fun, we all agreed it was time to head home for what I was told was going to be pizza.
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| Thea's on her tiptoes! |
And yes, Matthew was wearing pink socks in that last picture. Yes, they are Thea's. I don't know how they fit but they were the first ones I could find and there is a part of the park that you may not wear shoes, but need to wear socks.
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| We all live in a yellow submarine |
My heart melted a little when Matthew stopped the more busy, physical play to color a picture.
It melted even more when he brought it to me and said "Happy Mother's Day!"
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| I spy Thea in a peanut-sized park |
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| Me: Great tower buddy! Matthew: No Mommy, this is an apple. |
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| I love seeing my children this happy |
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| Good-bye! |
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Ooooo Canada!
Since realizing we were all knocked up and such in February 2011, we have talked about our next vacation. And by vacation, we meant "going somewhere new without a child in E, on E, or... near E." Because otherwise, it wouldn't have been a vacation. It would have been a trip.
Originally, we wanted to go to France. But that would have cost us two days in travel and probably another three days in salary. So we chose the next best thing: French Canada. It's a shorter flight than NYC, you need a passport to get in, and the official language isn't English. Now, I know what you're saying: "Is Canada really a different country?" You're the reason the terrorists hate us.
After years of planning, waiting, anticipating, and more waiting, it finally came on a Friday night. We arrived at the hotel at around 11:30, which was the perfect time to drag a thoroughly exhausted E to a pizza place. The pizza was average at best **USA ALL THE WAY** but the ten minutes sitting across the street on the steps of a building from the 1600's, waiting for the pizza while watching the surprisingly hot nightlife of Old Montreal unfold, was amazing. It was a terrific, special moment.
Old Montreal was fantastic. It felt very Old World European, and was a great walking city. Everything was in French first, but English was still readily available--when locals spoke in English, you often could not detect a French accent, everybody greeted us with a "Bonjour! Hi!", and most signs were in both languages. This was different than what we eventually experienced in Quebec City, where not everyone spoke English, most accents were heavily French, the standard greeting did not include English, and signs were in French-only.
While in Montreal, we stayed at the San Soucy, a nine-room boutique hotel built in the 1700s. It was nice, but not nearly as nice as the manager. He was the hotel manager you always dream of, assuming you dream of hotel managers. Which neither of us ever have because that's bizarre. He knew everything there was to know about Canada. His dinner recommendation was divine. His pastry shop recommendation was even better. And he told us what to do and look for when we got to Quebec City. We love him and miss him everyday. What we do not do everyday is refer to him by his real name, which we never bothered to learn. He looked like a Peter but sounded like a Franco.
After two great days in Montreal, which included being disappointed by famous Montreal bagels but having our minds blown by famous Montreal poutine, we took a romantic evening train ride to Quebec City. When we arrived at the station, we took a harrowing, grossly negligent, but I must admit, really efficient, cab drive to our hotel, Delta Quebec. We were excited to stay at the Delta, which is a popular Canadian hotel chain that we thought would be on par with Sheratons here in the States. And it was, albeit Sheratons in the 1970s. For Pete's sake, the escalator stair case was painted cinder blocks. But the bed was comfy and the 10th floor view of residental Quebec City was prestine, so we took it.
When we originally planned this trip, the idea was to go to Montreal, with a quick day trip to Quebec City. However, as we told more people about it, we kept hearing we should go to both cities equally. So we did. Which we probably wouldn't do again. Quebec City was cool--the fortified portion of the city is very European, and really, really old. But it is also painfully touristy. There are t-shirt shops everywhere. Just like during the French Revolution.
That said, Quebec City did have St. Jean Street, which featured oodles of quaint little cafes and grocery stores. Among the cafes was Le Hobbit, which is now my favorite restaurant in the world. It was basically just a little French cafe with sidewalk seating. The food was fabulous, the coffee was fabulous, the atmosphere was fabulous, and the people watching was fabulous. So yeah, we liked it.
Quebec City features the most photographed hotel in the world, the Chateau Frontenac. We considered staying there, but decided there were better ways to spend $400. So instead, we just planned on getting a drink there on our last night. We talked about it the entire trip and really looked forward to it. We then got there, saw the bar was full, walked around, saw it looked just like every other 100 year old luxury hotel in world, and left. It does get high marks for being enormous and extravagant. And the view of the hotel, which is in the Upper Town, from the Lower Town, was like something out of a Disney movie. A Disney movie about a Canadian town without a hockey team. It would make zero dollars and zero cents. But the Cinderella-like view of the Frontenac would still be awesome.
So, that was our trip in a nutshell. We loved it. It was slow, it involved a lot of zoning out, and we were together. It was exactly what we wanted. When it was over, we got back home to Matthew sprinting down the driveway and giving both of us explosively celebratory hugs. Thea gave us similar hugs, although her sprint was more of a wobble. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.
And know, photographic proof that we were there:
Originally, we wanted to go to France. But that would have cost us two days in travel and probably another three days in salary. So we chose the next best thing: French Canada. It's a shorter flight than NYC, you need a passport to get in, and the official language isn't English. Now, I know what you're saying: "Is Canada really a different country?" You're the reason the terrorists hate us.
After years of planning, waiting, anticipating, and more waiting, it finally came on a Friday night. We arrived at the hotel at around 11:30, which was the perfect time to drag a thoroughly exhausted E to a pizza place. The pizza was average at best **USA ALL THE WAY** but the ten minutes sitting across the street on the steps of a building from the 1600's, waiting for the pizza while watching the surprisingly hot nightlife of Old Montreal unfold, was amazing. It was a terrific, special moment.
Old Montreal was fantastic. It felt very Old World European, and was a great walking city. Everything was in French first, but English was still readily available--when locals spoke in English, you often could not detect a French accent, everybody greeted us with a "Bonjour! Hi!", and most signs were in both languages. This was different than what we eventually experienced in Quebec City, where not everyone spoke English, most accents were heavily French, the standard greeting did not include English, and signs were in French-only.
While in Montreal, we stayed at the San Soucy, a nine-room boutique hotel built in the 1700s. It was nice, but not nearly as nice as the manager. He was the hotel manager you always dream of, assuming you dream of hotel managers. Which neither of us ever have because that's bizarre. He knew everything there was to know about Canada. His dinner recommendation was divine. His pastry shop recommendation was even better. And he told us what to do and look for when we got to Quebec City. We love him and miss him everyday. What we do not do everyday is refer to him by his real name, which we never bothered to learn. He looked like a Peter but sounded like a Franco.
After two great days in Montreal, which included being disappointed by famous Montreal bagels but having our minds blown by famous Montreal poutine, we took a romantic evening train ride to Quebec City. When we arrived at the station, we took a harrowing, grossly negligent, but I must admit, really efficient, cab drive to our hotel, Delta Quebec. We were excited to stay at the Delta, which is a popular Canadian hotel chain that we thought would be on par with Sheratons here in the States. And it was, albeit Sheratons in the 1970s. For Pete's sake, the escalator stair case was painted cinder blocks. But the bed was comfy and the 10th floor view of residental Quebec City was prestine, so we took it.
When we originally planned this trip, the idea was to go to Montreal, with a quick day trip to Quebec City. However, as we told more people about it, we kept hearing we should go to both cities equally. So we did. Which we probably wouldn't do again. Quebec City was cool--the fortified portion of the city is very European, and really, really old. But it is also painfully touristy. There are t-shirt shops everywhere. Just like during the French Revolution.
That said, Quebec City did have St. Jean Street, which featured oodles of quaint little cafes and grocery stores. Among the cafes was Le Hobbit, which is now my favorite restaurant in the world. It was basically just a little French cafe with sidewalk seating. The food was fabulous, the coffee was fabulous, the atmosphere was fabulous, and the people watching was fabulous. So yeah, we liked it.
Quebec City features the most photographed hotel in the world, the Chateau Frontenac. We considered staying there, but decided there were better ways to spend $400. So instead, we just planned on getting a drink there on our last night. We talked about it the entire trip and really looked forward to it. We then got there, saw the bar was full, walked around, saw it looked just like every other 100 year old luxury hotel in world, and left. It does get high marks for being enormous and extravagant. And the view of the hotel, which is in the Upper Town, from the Lower Town, was like something out of a Disney movie. A Disney movie about a Canadian town without a hockey team. It would make zero dollars and zero cents. But the Cinderella-like view of the Frontenac would still be awesome.
So, that was our trip in a nutshell. We loved it. It was slow, it involved a lot of zoning out, and we were together. It was exactly what we wanted. When it was over, we got back home to Matthew sprinting down the driveway and giving both of us explosively celebratory hugs. Thea gave us similar hugs, although her sprint was more of a wobble. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.
And know, photographic proof that we were there:
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| Place (read: plaza) d'Armes and a statue marks where French settlers defeated Iroquois warriors |
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| Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal |
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| La Maison Pierre du Calvet (Calvet House) A 17th century building first owned by a French Huguenot family that supported the American Revolution. He met with Benjamin Franklin at this site in 1775. Calvet ended up in prison for 3 years because he gave money to the Americans. |
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| Us being us. In Canada. |
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| Old Montreal |
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| So we had poutine, and then we went for a walk and stumbled upon Fountain Park which was very much like Central Park. |
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| Quebec, St. Jean Street |
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| Oldest grocery store in North America |
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| The Walls of Quebec |
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| Chateau Frontenac |
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| Gorgeous Parliament building with gorgeous husband |
Kids Quotes! X
This has happened twice in three days.
Minute 0: Matthew falls down. Matthew weeps. Daddy comforts him.
Minute 2: Matthew falls down. Matthew cries "Again?!?!" Matthew weeps. Daddy represses laughter, then comforts him.
Minute 0: Matthew falls down. Matthew weeps. Daddy comforts him.
Minute 2: Matthew falls down. Matthew cries "Again?!?!" Matthew weeps. Daddy represses laughter, then comforts him.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
What happens when you combine unexpected humidity, an enormous crowd, grossly incompetent carnival workers, and a stroller-to-person ratio of 1.3:1.0? You get "A Day Out With Thomas", the perfect family activity for families who have always wanted Disney World to slash their budget by 98% and move to Union, IL.
Let's start this off by saying that Matthew had a great time. He got to ride Thomas the Tank Engine, or at least a 1940's locomotive that had a Thomas latched on as the first car. He also got to watch a pretty cool toy train set while wearing his "train hat" and blowing his whistle. He was genuinely thrilled by all of this. His parents were genuinely thrilled by how thrilled he was.
His parents were genuinely not thrilled by:
1. The fact that we were told we didn't need to buy tickets for E/T since they weren't riding. We found out this was a lie.
2. The fact that E was told to stand in a specific line for 30 minutes to buy her ticket, only to be told when she got to the front that it was the wrong line.
3. The fact that the original instruction E was given was arguably the most helpful information we received from the staff all day.
4. The fact that we were herded into a confined pen (seriously) to wait to board the train, were not told when we could board, and didn't finally board until 10:02. The train was supposed to leave at 10:00. It was the first ride of the day. The train had been sitting there for an hour. Yet we were late.
5. It fact that it was hoooooooooooooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.
6. The fact that the clowns were upsetting. There were at least 10 of them. None of them looked like they had worked the clowning circuit since the early '90s. They made no effort to interact with children. They did not seem like the types of folks who intended to be working as clowns at a train museum in rural Illinois.
7. The fact that the train ride had nothing to do with Thomas. The front car was Thomas. Besides that, there was nothing. Is it too much to ask for Sir Topham Hatt to creepily wander the cabin while the Thomas theme song wafts from the speakers?
8. That's enough complaining for today.
We will never attend the event again, lest M/T/FK (Future Kid) begs for it, but all in all it was a great day. The kids were happy, what more can we ask for?
Let's start this off by saying that Matthew had a great time. He got to ride Thomas the Tank Engine, or at least a 1940's locomotive that had a Thomas latched on as the first car. He also got to watch a pretty cool toy train set while wearing his "train hat" and blowing his whistle. He was genuinely thrilled by all of this. His parents were genuinely thrilled by how thrilled he was.
His parents were genuinely not thrilled by:
1. The fact that we were told we didn't need to buy tickets for E/T since they weren't riding. We found out this was a lie.
2. The fact that E was told to stand in a specific line for 30 minutes to buy her ticket, only to be told when she got to the front that it was the wrong line.
3. The fact that the original instruction E was given was arguably the most helpful information we received from the staff all day.
4. The fact that we were herded into a confined pen (seriously) to wait to board the train, were not told when we could board, and didn't finally board until 10:02. The train was supposed to leave at 10:00. It was the first ride of the day. The train had been sitting there for an hour. Yet we were late.
5. It fact that it was hoooooooooooooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.
6. The fact that the clowns were upsetting. There were at least 10 of them. None of them looked like they had worked the clowning circuit since the early '90s. They made no effort to interact with children. They did not seem like the types of folks who intended to be working as clowns at a train museum in rural Illinois.
7. The fact that the train ride had nothing to do with Thomas. The front car was Thomas. Besides that, there was nothing. Is it too much to ask for Sir Topham Hatt to creepily wander the cabin while the Thomas theme song wafts from the speakers?
8. That's enough complaining for today.
We will never attend the event again, lest M/T/FK (Future Kid) begs for it, but all in all it was a great day. The kids were happy, what more can we ask for?
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Kids Quotes! VIII
Lady at the park: And what's your sister's name?
Matthew: Bean.
Mommy: Yeah, we call her Bean, but what's her real name?
Matthew: Honeybunch.
Mommy: Yeah, we call her that too.
Maybe Mike and I should call her Thea more often. Or ever.
Helmet
Mike left work a little early yesterday so that we could take a family trip to the local bike shop to get Matthew sized for a helmet. And we found an "organginge" one!!!!
His new bike should arrive next week!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Kids Quotes! VII
Matthew slipped and fell.
Matthew (to Daddy): This is not funny. This is not funny.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Kid Quotes! IV
Mommy: You're a pretty lucky boy to have such a great truck!
Matthew: This truck is preeeety lucky!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Kid Quotes! III
Background: we recently visited a 8 1/2 month pregnant lady and talked about a baby being in the mama's belly.
Matthew (pointing at Grandma's stomach): What's in here?
Grandma: Nothing, that's just my stomach.
Matthew (pointing north of Grandma's belly): What are those?
Grandma: What does your mommy say?
Matthew: (pauses and then points to Mommy's) That's a drink! (pause) That's a small drink! (pause) That's a tiny drink!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
15 Months
Since Bean is almost 16 months, we thought we'd let you all know how her 15 month appointment went.
Height: 31" (50-75th %ile)*
Weight: 20 lbs, 10 oz (10-25%ile)
Head circumference: 48 cm (95th %ile)
*Doubt it. The woman took the measurements quickly and Bean is a peanut! Bean doesn't know she's tiny, cause she believes she is seven. Take her to the park and you'll see. It's real easy trying to rescue her out of a netted bridge that's 10 feet long.
Thea is a great sleeper and eater and has six teeth (four on top and two on the bottom), although back at 15 months she had probably only had three teeth on top the forth was just popping through. She is a happy girl who is such a joy to be around. Whenever we pick her up from childcare at church, people go on and on about how much fun she is to be with and how they gravitate to her. She is funny (loves to make farting noises at random with her mouth) and loves her brother (runs to his room each time he wakes up from a nap...with open arms to hug him).
Height: 31" (50-75th %ile)*
Weight: 20 lbs, 10 oz (10-25%ile)
Head circumference: 48 cm (95th %ile)
*Doubt it. The woman took the measurements quickly and Bean is a peanut! Bean doesn't know she's tiny, cause she believes she is seven. Take her to the park and you'll see. It's real easy trying to rescue her out of a netted bridge that's 10 feet long.
Thea is a great sleeper and eater and has six teeth (four on top and two on the bottom), although back at 15 months she had probably only had three teeth on top the forth was just popping through. She is a happy girl who is such a joy to be around. Whenever we pick her up from childcare at church, people go on and on about how much fun she is to be with and how they gravitate to her. She is funny (loves to make farting noises at random with her mouth) and loves her brother (runs to his room each time he wakes up from a nap...with open arms to hug him).
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| Who doesn't LOVE a baby waddling?!?! |
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| At a (surprise for us) concert at the park |
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